What do investors look for in a pitch deck?
Founders often assume the deck is a feature parade. Investors are scanning for signal fast:
- A real, painful problem
- A solution people adopt
- A path to a big market
- A credible team
- Proof and a plan
Reality check on attention: investor time per deck is short (a few minutes), so your story must be skimmable. You should make the opportunity obvious in minutes, not meetings.
What to show on each slide of a pitch deck?
A familiar flow helps busy readers orient faster. Sequoia’s and YC’s guidance aligns with the 10–15 slide convention; adapt the depth to your stage.
- Title / one-line value prop — What you do, for whom, in one sentence. (Skip slogans; use plain English.)
- Problem — Who hurts today? Quantify frequency, spend, and failure of current alternatives.
- Solution — Your “aha”: show how you remove the pain, not just features. Frame from the customer’s POV.
- Product (“how it works”) — A simple user flow or 3 annotated screenshots beats a feature wall. Design tips: high contrast, big type, one idea per slide.
- Market — TAM/SAM/SOM, but anchored to your obtainable wedge in 3–5 years; avoid hand-wavy totals.
- Business model — Pricing, ARPU/ACV, expansion motions; if pre-revenue, show pricing strategy vs. alternatives.
- Go-to-market — Primary channels (product-led, sales-led, partnerships), conversion math, and payback discipline.
- Traction — MRR/ARR, growth, retention, sales cycle; keep it truthful and time-series based.
- Team — Why this founding team wins. Investors spend meaningful time here; DocSend finds the Team slide attracts outsized attention in successful early decks.
- Competition & advantage — Reframe as “why we win” (switching costs, data advantages, distribution).
- Financials / forecast (stage-appropriate) — Lightweight for seed; more detail by Series A/B.
- The ask & use of funds — Amount, runway, and milestone-based plan for the next 12–18 months.
Staying around 10–15 slides is a good default; brevity correlates with better outcomes in multiple analyses (don’t pad, ship an appendix if needed).
SaaS metrics investors expect (with directional benchmarks)
Benchmarks vary by segment, but recent SaaS studies (High Alpha/OpenView and others) offer helpful ranges to calibrate your story. Use them as context, not commandments:
- Growth — Show trend lines (QoQ or MoM) and breakouts by segment.
- Retention — Net Revenue Retention is king; land a crisp story on logo vs. dollar retention.
- Churn — Lower is better; B2B churn in mid-single digits annually is considered strong in many categories.
- CAC Payback — Many investors look for ~12–18 months or improving trends at your stage; pair with sales efficiency.
- Sales efficiency — Simple rule-of-thumb metrics (e.g., magic number) help non-experts parse progress.
Link each KPI to a milestone in your use of funds (e.g., “reduce CAC payback from 18→12 months by expanding self-serve and improving activation”).
Deck versions, delivery, and timing
- Teaser vs. full deck: Start with a concise send-ahead or “teaser” to secure the meeting; bring a deeper version (or appendix) for live discussion.
- Live vs. async: Assume your deck must stand on its own; investors skim fast. Keep slide titles as headlines that answer the question on the slide.
- Timeline: Budget 2–3 weeks for crafting and rehearsals; live fundraising cycles vary, but the “first 5 minutes” principle applies—front-load the strongest evidence.
Design and storytelling that land
- Hierarchy and contrast: it's recommended generous type sizes, whitespace, and one point per slide. Screenshots should be zoomed to the action.
- Plain language > jargon: If a non-specialist can’t repeat your one-liner, rewrite it.
- Concrete proof: Replace adjectives with numbers, customer logos, and cohort cuts.
- Market context: Acknowledge today’s focus on durable growth and unit economics; investor reports highlight this shift post-2023. [
Common mistakes in a pitch deck (and quick fixes)
- Unclear problem → Open with the user pain in numbers and anecdotes.
- Wall-of-text slides → Use headlines as claims and bullets as proof.
- Hand-wavy TAM → Anchor on your serviceable market and near-term wedge.
- No competition slide → Map alternatives honestly; show switching costs or distribution edges.
- Vanity metrics → Prioritize metrics tied to cash (retention, payback, ACV growth).
- Buried ask → End crisply with the raise size and milestone plan.
Prep checklist (so the meeting stays about the business, not the slides)
- Investor list with thesis fit and stage fit; track intros, feedback, and follow-ups.
- Numbers “at your fingertips”: ARR bridge, churn components, CAC formula, cohort view.
- 120-second voiceover of the whole story; rehearse Q&A on GTM math and roadmap tradeoffs.
- Teaser deck (lightweight) + full deck (with appendix) + one-pager summary for partners’ email threads.
Founder FAQs
1. How much detail should I include in my financials slide?
Founders often overcomplicate this. At the seed stage, investors expect directional forecasts, unit economics, and a credible plan for how new capital drives growth. By Series A/B, you’ll want a more detailed model with assumptions (CAC, payback, NRR, burn). Keep the numbers stage-appropriate and tie them directly to your use of funds.
2. Should I customize my deck for every investor?
You don’t need to rewrite your entire deck. A strong, clear “core deck” works across most conversations. Where customization helps is in the emphasis: highlight market dynamics or customer logos relevant to an investor’s thesis, geography, or portfolio. Think of it as adjusting the spotlight, not changing the script.
3. What’s the biggest red flag investors see in a deck?
The most common deal-killer isn’t a weak slide design, it’s lack of clarity on the problem and market. If investors can’t quickly see who your customer is, why the pain is urgent, and how big the opportunity could be, they’ll move on. Hand-wavy TAMs, buried asks, or vanity metrics (downloads instead of revenue retention) also erode confidence fast.
